After a decade-long wait, creditors of the defunct Mt Gox exchange are set to receive in-kind distributions of bitcoin and bitcoin cash starting in July. The head of research from Galaxy Digital predicts the market impact of these distributions will be less severe than anticipated. Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Likely to Retain Mt Gox Bitcoin Distributions […]
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Crypto Industry Future: Insights From Marathon Digital’s CEO on Trump and Biden
Marathon Digital’s CEO has shared his insights on the future of the crypto industry and the potential impact of the upcoming presidential election. The executive observed that the Biden administration has historically been hostile to bitcoin and crypto through its various agencies. However, he noted a recent shift in its stance, likely due to the […]
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Ethena’s USDE Stablecoin Surpasses $3 Billion, Flipping First Digital’s FDUSD
This weekend, Ethena’s synthetic U.S. dollar stablecoin USDE reached the billion range. As of June 2, 2024, USDE has surpassed First Digital’s FDUSD stablecoin. Ethena’s Synthetic Stablecoin USDE Exceeds Billion Launched in February, the synthetic U.S. dollar stablecoin USDE, which offers yield earnings on holdings, has exceeded the billion threshold. As of […]
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Marathon to Acquire Applied Digital’s 200 MW Texas Bitcoin Mining Site
The Nasdaq-listed mining enterprise Applied Digital has concluded a definitive pact for selling its 200-megawatt (MW) mining facility in Garden City, Texas. Applied Digital disclosed that the transaction involves Marathon Digital Holdings acquiring the Garden City mining property for a sum of .3 million. Applied Digital and Marathon Ink .3 Million Deal for Texas Mining […]
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SEC Delays Decision on Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s Spot Ether ETF
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its ruling on the Invesco Galaxy ether exchange-traded fund (ETF), and has now been pushed to potentially July 2024 after opening the proposal to public comments.
Invesco and Galaxy Spot Ethereum ETF Decision Delayed by SEC
The SEC has once again postponed its verdict on a proposed spot ether ETF. The delay affects the application by investment giants Invesco and Galaxy Digital, which had sought to launch the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
In a notice dated Feb. 6, the SEC announced its intention to open the proposal to public commentary, extending the decision-making period by an additional 35 days from its publication in the Federal Register. The SEC can push the final decision up to 240 days from the filing date in October 2023, which means the final potential deadline is July 2024 for the SEC’s ruling.
The application by Invesco and Galaxy Digital comes amid a wave of interest in cryptocurrency ETFs, particularly following the SEC’s landmark approval of spot bitcoin ETFs from several asset managers, including Blackrock and Fidelity, that began trading on Jan. 10.
James Seyffart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, took to social media platform X to comment on the delay, stating it was “100% expected” and predicting further postponements in the coming months. Seyffart highlighted May 23 as a critical date, marking the deadline for a decision on Vaneck’s spot ether ETF application, which could signal the SEC’s approach to other similar products.
The SEC’s hesitancy to approve a spot ether ETF contrasts with its recent approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, which many saw as a turning point for cryptocurrency investments. The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs was accompanied by significant investor interest, suggesting a strong market appetite for similar products based on ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization.
Analysts, including those from British bank Standard Chartered, have expressed optimism that a spot ether ETF could be approved by May, citing the SEC’s silence on whether ETH is considered a security as a positive sign. The bank argued that the lack of a designation of ETH as a security might pave the way for ETF approvals, given the SEC’s history of cracking down on crypto companies for selling unregulated securities.
ETFs offer traditional investors a less complex route to cryptocurrency investment, allowing them to buy shares that track the price of digital assets like ethereum without the need for direct purchase or storage. The anticipation surrounding the approval of an spot ether ETF is seen as the next step towards integrating cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial markets.
The SEC’s pattern of delaying decisions on cryptocurrency ETFs has been consistent, with several applications for spot ether ETFs from leading firms being pushed back this year.
Does this delay change the chance of a spot ether ETF being approved this year? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Voyager Digital’s Bankruptcy Battle Racks Up Millions in Legal Expenses
A recent court filing from the now-insolvent Voyager Digital Holdings and its creditor committee revealed that legal expenses amounting to .5 million have accumulated from July 22, 2022, through May 18, 2023. The records indicate that between March and May 2023, roughly .17 million in legal fees were billed to the estate.
Lawyers and Restructuring Officers Are Profiting From the Slew of Crypto Bankruptcy Cases
Lawyers for Voyager’s creditor committee unveiled the legal costs concerning the company’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which began in July 2022, on July 3, 2023. According to the filing, the third interim fee period (March-May 2023) has a compensation request of .17 million. The document states that this is the final provisional fee application invoiced by the law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
Furthermore, the filing asserts that the court granted the interim compensation order on August 4, 2022. The attorneys explain that Voyager’s Chapter 11 case was “the first to commence following a series of events in the cryptocurrency industry, which are collectively known as the ‘crypto winter.’” McDermott details that throughout the fee period, their litigation team advised the committee in all aspects of the Chapter 11 cases, including a variety of complex matters, which the committee took to maximize recoveries for general unsecured creditors.
Responsibilities included counseling the committee, participating in meetings and negotiations, and “taking all necessary action to protect and preserve the interests of the committee.” In April, Voyager Digital was also billed .1 million in legal fees by its law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Attorneys from Celsius, 3AC, Voyager, and FTX are reportedly reaping significant financial rewards as a result of these bankruptcy cases. John J. Ray III, CEO of FTX, is said to be earning ,300 hourly supervising his firm’s bankruptcy and restructuring.
Should cryptocurrency companies be held accountable for the exorbitant legal and restructuring costs incurred during bankruptcy proceedings, or is it a necessary price to pay for the complexities of the industry? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Galaxy Digital’s Jason Urban What Will Drive Ethereum To Flip Bitcoin
The school of thought that Ethereum will one day flip Bitcoin is one that has been around for a while. Although debates around this have subsided following the bull rallies that rocked last year. However, it seems not everyone has forgotten about this. One of those is Galaxy Digital’s trading co-head Jason Urban. The trading veteran shared his thoughts on the crypto market and what he believes will push Ethereum to eventually flip Bitcoin.
Ethereum Merge Is The Catalyst
In an interview with Kitco News, Galaxy Digital Co-Head of Trading, Jason Urban explained why he believed that Ethereum will end up flipping bitcoin. The major driver identified by Urban was the upcoming ETH Merge. This merge will give Ethereum another edge over bitcoin, both of which still utilize the proof of work mechanism. However, after the merge, Ethereum will move to proof of stake, requiring significantly less energy to carry out transactions.
Related Reading | Terra Users Heads Up, Why NEAR May Launch Native Stablecoin With A 20% APR
The increased speed and scalability of the network will also give it an edge. Making it a more valuable digital asset.
Pointing to the rapid adoption of the digital asset, he told Kitco News that it shows more people are beginning to understand what Ethereum is about. The leading smart contracts platform presents a unique opportunity with its widespread utility, hence, making it a great play for institutional investors.
ETH price crumbles to ,200 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com
“There’s scalability and things that now become very valuable and will allow ETH to grow and so smart institutional investors are seeing that,” Urban noted. “They’re not going to create a more ESG compliant crypto and that is driving institutions into such a degree that we may see more institutional money going into Ethereum than Bitcoin because of the whole energy consumption angle.”
When Will The Flippening Happen?
For highly volatile digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, trying to predict their future value can often be a short in the dark. But Urban has placed a timeframe in which he believes that the market may see ETH flipping BTC.
Related Reading | Mike Novogratz Doubles Down On 0,000 Bitcoin Prediction
The timeframe he offered shows that the trading co-head does not expect to see the flipping happening anytime soon. However, the timeline for the future is not very wide. Answering the question, Urban said that he sees this taking place “in the next two to three years” which is the “soonest” time that he expects this to happen.
“As people become educated in the space and they understand what the value proposition of crypto is they start to understand the power of smart contracts that layer one that so many brilliant minds can build on. Ethereum is the copper, Bitcoin is the digital gold.”
Ethereum is trading at ,250 at the time of this writing. It is currently sitting at less than 10% of the value of bitcoin, although its market cap shows a smaller gap compared to the pioneer cryptocurrency.
Featured image from CNBC, chart from TradingView.com
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Bitcoin Mining Raises Marathon Digital’s BTC Holds To $457M
The large American-based bitcoin self-mining company, Marathon Digital Holdings, reported an increase of total BTC holdings on its October update of the company’s bitcoin production and mining operations.
In October, the company increased its total bitcoin holdings to around 7,453 BTC after mining 417.7 bitcoins. This translates to 7.4 million of market value, and their total liquidity now reaches approximately 8.3 million.
The company has been ‘hodling’ the totality of its mined and bought bitcoins since October 2020, taking into account 4,812.66 BTC purchased past January at the price of ,168 per BTC.
Related Reading | Marathon Digital Holdings Reported A 17% Spike In Bitcoin Mining
Furthermore, after buying 0,7 million of mining machines from Bitmain, they received a shipment of roughly 42,381 top-tier ASIC miners, “with 12,331 delivered to a Compute North facility” pending deployment “and an additional 3,285 ASIC miners currently in transit”. They currently have 27,280 active miners on their fleet, resulting in a production of 2.96 EH/s.
While deliveries of miners may continue to fluctuate in the near-term, based on current estimates, the Company still anticipates all previously purchased miners to be delivered by mid-2022. Once all miners are fully installed, the Company’s mining fleet is expected to consist of approximately 133,000 miners, generating approximately 13.3 EH/s.
Their MaraPool, which is fully audited and focuses on lowering BTC mining’s environmental impact, reached 3.0 EH/s with a network hash rate of 170.9 EH/s. Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO, stated:
In addition to improving our bitcoin production, MaraPool reached 3.0 EH/s, and we began sending our first batches of miners to one of Compute North’s facilities. We also began chartering planes in October to expedite the delivery of our miners and to mitigate the adverse effects of global logistics issues on our growth. By chartering planes, we decreased the average time it took for miners to be shipped and delivered by approximately 50% from September to October.
Source: Marathon Digital Holdings
Big Horizons For Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.
Last month, the company secured a 0 million yearly renewable loan with Silvergate Bank to fund their mining operations and equipment. They currently expect more growth during the fourth quarter, said Fred Thiel:
Given the number of miners expected to ship and the steps we have taken to prepare for their deployment, we believe that the fourth quarter will be a transformative time for our business, and we look forward to continuing to scale our mining operations.
Back in May, the company had accounted for its plan to transition into the first mining pool to produce “100% carbon neutral and OFAC compliant bitcoins”, as well as its agreement with Compute North, who offers a large-scale service provider with “environmentally friendly hosting and infrastructure”.
The partnership is meant to help them achieve their goals by allowing them to operate their mining fleet “in regulatory environments that have proven to be friendly to Bitcoin miners and at rates that we believe are among the lowest in the country.”
As in prior months, our bitcoin production was impacted by maintenance-related outages at the power plant in Hardin, MT, and increases in the total network hash rate. However, with shipments of our previously purchased miners accelerating over the coming months, we continue to expect our bitcoin production to become more consistent as we scale.
Related Reading | How Governments Mining Bitcoin Could De-Risk Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin price at ,485 in the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD TradingView
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Bakkt, Fidelity Will Store Galaxy Digitals New Bitcoin Fund Holdings
Galaxy Digital is tapping Bakkt and Fidelity Digital Assets to store the bitcoin for its two new funds.
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After Taking out $6,800, Bitcoin Will Hit New Highs In 2019, Says Galaxy Digitals Novogratz
n Institutional FOMO to drive 2019 Bitcoin all-time highs, says Novogratzn
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